The case began in 1999 when Vernon Bowman, a 75-year-old soybean farmer, planted unmarked animal feed grains on his land; when they matured, the plants contained Roundup Ready, “the popular herbicide-resistant genetic trait . . . that Monsanto guards closely with patents,” according to Reuters.

The multi-billion dollar biotech/agricultural giant Monsanto says Bowman is infringing on its patents, but Bowman maintains that his seeds are second-generation and not the original ones covered by said patents.

The court will now face the question of whether a patent holder of a genetically modified seed can control its use beyond the first generation of seeds.

Farmers, food safety groups, fellow biotech companies, environmental groups, intellectual property attorneys, and even the U.S. government is watching the case closely; more than 50 amicus curiae briefs have been filed.

Monsanto general counsel Dave Snively sees the case as critical to the issue of “twenty-first century technology such as what we bring in agriculture and other companies bring for say stem cell research or nanotechnology…. and how they’re going to be handled under principles of intellectual property law.”

For Bowman’s part, he says he simply wanted cheaper seeds.

“Farmers have always been allowed to go buy elevator grain and use for seed. You have no idea what kind of seed you’re buying at an elevator. They claim I’m making a new seed by planting it. But that’s far-fetched reasoning.”

Both the trial and appellate court found in favor of Monsanto, with the trial court ordering Bowman to pay the company $84,456.

Monsanto is unbelievable. There was a case many years ago in which they sued a farmer because they found their GM material in his corn field, but he hadn’t purchased their seeds. He had planted a field of non-GM corn, but because of natural conditions, his neighbor’s pollen from a GM-planted corn crop blew onto his property and polinated his non-GM corn, resulting in yields where GM material was detected by Monsanto in his corn crop.

First of all, it clearly seems that Monsanto is aware of this and is purposely monitoring crops NOT planted with their GM seeds solely for the purpose of going after farmers who don’t buy their product. Second of all, since there is absolutely no way to control wind and pollination, particularly with outdoor crops, I don’t see how they could have a valid argument in court. They are not about feeding the world; they are about controlling resources.

They want to patent rice that southeast Asian farmers use to grow their subsistence food, which they’ve grown for generations by taking some of this season’s yeild as seed for next season’s planting (quite a radical concept!). One problem is that most GM seed is designed to produce sterile plants; how would they get farmers dependent on their product if they could take yield and plant it next year? It’s all about control of world food production. Unhealthy, immoral, unethical and dangerous.

I think the court ruling is absolutely wrong, immoral and rigged. Monsanto is in the process of destroying the planet and putting thousands of farmers out of business in order to control the food supply. There are many, many lawsuits like this but very few get this far because Monsanto has so much more money than these small farmers. This monster, Monsanto, is so large, evil and rich (powerful) that it will take an informed and courageous nation to stop this madness. The U.S. government is in bed with Monsanto, so it will not be the government that will protect the people from Monsanto. The people can not wait for the government to requiring labeling on deadly genetically engineered foods. WE THE PEOPLE need to make this change. Every dollar spent is a powerful vote cast. Choose carefully where you spend your money (who you empower).

When I think of Monsanto, I think of the 70′s movie “Soylent Green”. What they’ve done to farmers and food supply is morally criminal. It is so difficult to find non-GMO soy products now because of their actions.

I’m no lawyer – but it seems to me there are laws forbidding monopoly, which it seems is their goal …to monopolize soybeans with their toxic version. I pray the courts do what is right and stop Monsanto.